


Always Call First

by AnnieVH



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Coming Out, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 06:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieVH/pseuds/AnnieVH
Summary: Gold and Belle stop by to his their son. He already has company.





	Always Call First

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by ifeltyourheartbeat: it would be awesome to see something where Gideon comes out to his parents / introduces them to his boyfriend.

 

“This isn't safe,” Gold said to his wife as she dragged their overnight bag through the flimsy gate that separated his son from the many thugs and murderers that roamed the streets of New York City.

Belle looked at him over her shoulder. “Don't start, Ian...”

“I'm not starting anything, I'm just saying he could live somewhere more suitable. And Neal was always complaining about the noise.”

“Well, Gideon likes it and we should be supportive.”

“I'm supportive!”

He went quiet until they reached the end of the hall.

“Aaaand the elevator is still broken.”

“Ian-”

“My little boy is living in a crime-ridden neighborhood behind a rusty gate and with a broken elevator.”

“Ian, I will turn this bag around.”

“Right. Supportive. I'm supportive.”

Gold sighed. Eleven more months until graduation.

Belle retracted the handle on their bag and lifted it with her good hand. Ian tried to take it from her, claiming he only needed one hand to hold the cane and he was stronger than her anyway, but she wouldn't let him. The rusty gate and the broken elevator didn't worry her nearly as much as the narrow and slippery steps that led three floors up to Neal's old apartment, where her son now lived. It'd be best if her husband kept a free hand.

Belle knew he had a point about the horrible building, but she also knew that this was all part of the New York experience Gideon loved so much. She'd been in his shoes once and faced her own crappy apartment with the same sense of wonder. It was perhaps the way all privileged kids looked at these horrible conditions: like one big adventure, protected by their parents' safety net. Ian, on the other hand, had been raised in much worse places than this. He knew this wasn't going to be fun forever and he couldn't wait for their son to get his MBA and go back home, where it was safe and cozy.

“There,” she said, a little breathless, as they reached the third floor. “It wasn't so bad. And you know Gideon is in much better shape than either of us.”

“Speak for yourself, I'm in my prime,” he said and Belle was glad to see him smile a bit. “But these stairs are killer.”

“That they are. Can you get the door?”

Gold produced the key chain from his pocket and allowed Belle to go in first. He realized something was not quite right when she said, “ _Oh... kay_...” but followed in anyway, wondering what had surprised her so much. And then he saw their son, looking like a deer in headlights. Possibly because he was caught skipping class. Most likely because he was currently pressing another boy against a wall and had been interrupted in the middle of a kiss.

For a moment, none of them spoke, Gideon looking downright petrified where his father was too shocked for words and his mother, the most eloquent of the three, was currently making “Uhm...” sounds as she tried to find the least awkward thing to say. The other boy, who neither Belle or Gold remembered ever meeting before, was caught between a wall and their son's body and unable to run away and hide – though, judging by the look on his face, he wanted nothing more than to do just that.

“We should've knocked,” Belle finally managed to say. “Sorry, we can come back later, or...?”

Her words trailed off, allowing for someone else to talk instead. No one did.

Then, the boy said, “I'm, uh, I'm gonna grab my coat,” and escaped to the other room. Gideon quickly said, “I'm gonna grab his coat, too,” and follow his friend.

In the bedroom, the two of them seemed to be exchanging a whispered conversation and Belle asked her husband, “Perhaps we should leave?”

Gold recovered from the shock just enough to say, “He better have a good excuse for not being in class.”

Belle stared at him. “That's your priority right now?”

“For the fortune I'm paying Columbia, yes.”

“Well, I assume the excuse has something to do with the _boy he was just kissing_.”

“He can kiss boys after class for 50K a semester.”

“Ian, this isn't- Oh, there they are!” she said, a little too excited.

Gideon had apparently gotten over the shock but his friend – boyfriend? Lover? Partner? What was the right terminology these days? It was hard to keep up with these things – still looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the earth. Before her son could say, “We were on our way out,” Belle was already advancing on the both of them with a smile. It didn't seem to make his friend feel any more comfortable.

“Hello! I'm Gideon's mother, you can call me Belle.”

He shook the hand she was offering with such caution it was like he was expecting her to break his arm.

“Good morning, Mrs. Gold,” he said, in what was a tiny, sweet voice.

Before his mother had the chance to start asking questions, Gideon cut in.

“Mother, what are you doing here?” His eyes fell on what was in her hand and he went a shade paler. “And with a bag...”

“We're visiting! You knew we were coming.”

“You said you were going to stay at Neal's.”

“He couldn't pick us up so he told us to wait here.”

“Yes, you were supposed to be in class,” Gold reminded him, earning a glare from his wife.

“He was, but that _doesn't matter right now_ , dear,” she said, through gritted teeth. “Not when he's got his boyfriend-”

“No, he's right, I should. I'm late.”

With that, Gideon grabbed the boy's hand and yanked him past his parents and out the door. Gold stepped out of the way but Belle followed them into the hallway, shouting, “Wait! Will you boys be back for dinner? I can make something!”

“Goodbye, mother!”

“Okay, I'll put on an extra plate! _And be careful on those stairs_!”

Both boys disappeared at the end of the corridor and, judging by the sound of their loud and quick steps, they were not heeding her advice.

She went back inside and her husband sank into the old couch, sighing. Her smile faded immediately.

“It didn't go as well as it could have,” Belle said.

“To be fair,” Gold said, “I don't think this could've gone any better, no matter how hard you tried.”


End file.
